Metal casing for leaf-spring covers



.w 2 w1. 4 1x K R D L o G R. A

oct. so, 1923.A

METAL-CASING FOR LEAF SPRING COV RS Filed Jan. l0. 1922 `Viliereit derpressure within Vthe' casing, itis-neces# economically' be durable inlYuseand neat 'in appearance. In the making of such spring covers, it'ispreferable to use ALBERT R. GOLDRICK, OF CLEVELAND, OHIO, ASSIGNOR TOCARL W. SCHAEFER, OF

LAKEWOOD, OHIO.v

METAL CASING FOB LEAF-SPBIN G COVBS.

Application led January 10, 1922. Serial No. 528,332.

To all lwhom it may concern.'

Be it known that I, ALBERT R. GoLDRioK', a citizen of the United States,residing at Cleveland in the county of Cuyahoga and State of hio, haveinvented a certain new and useful Improvement in a Metal Casing forLeaf-Spring Covers, of which the following is a full, clear, and exactdescription, reference being had to the accompanying drawings. Y

This invention relates to protecting lubricant containingspring coversfor laminated springs. It is concerned with that-charac ter of s ringcover in which a container encloses t Y is desirable to retain lubricantunsary that `it be manufactured andbe easily applied; that it vai fabriclubricant-impervious lining within the. casing proper. v

...Theobjects of this invention include' the construction of a casing ofsuch a 'material which, when in position, will afford the nec-.essary'strength and flexible characteristics.

Amore specific object is toprovide a means Athe jacket as illustrated inFigs. 2 to 5'comi prises a closure member 12 which is provided withinwardly extending flanges 12a Ithat are adapted to be substantiallycomplefor securing the sheet in itsposition enclos ing w'the spring witha minimum'pf effort,

while answering the other requirements above outlined. To this end, Ichoose to use a specially selected L,wire mesh! ormetal'lic fabric,ecutinaVV In the drawing, Fig. 1 is an elevation of` a spring having a coverembodying my-in- .vention secured thereto; Fig. 2

ltive -view showing the cover having one form of securing meanstherefor; Fig. 3 y is a transverse section showing a `portion of the.

spring and cover; Figs. 4 and 5 ane'perspec-v tive views on an enlargedscale showing the casing as comprising two forms ofwoveu.

screen; Fig. 6 is a perspective view showing a modificatlon of the meansvfor securing the casing around the spring.

In the various figures, I have shown my invention as attached to acantilever spring, the leaves of which are anchored at C to a vehicleaxle, and the top leaf of which, desployed.

vrigidly secured to the screen vor soldering.

be hereii'iis a perspecfisgnated A, terminates in a shackle -loop B.urrounding the spring, intermediate the points of anchorage and shackleattachment, I have shown a cover which embodies a onepiece metalliccasing 5 in close-fitting-engagement withl a fabric jacket 6. The con--struction of the casing, together with the vention; and the details of,construction-iiicidental thereto, will now be described. i e -flexing'vportion I of the; spring.

`The casing proper is constructed of woven `.material and is shown intwo weaves as illus- `overlap on lthe fourth side when the closure Inthis case each end is provided with a metallic strip or rail 8 whichextends longitudinally of the casing. Each strip is shown as having aiiange'a which may be' as by brazing means illustrated in Figs. 2 to 5,are ein;

The means for locking the screen about mentary to the flanges 8*. Whenthe flanges ,;12.are=f formed, the are vsubstantiadly inl`Ethe',`positibn 'indicate -in Fig. 4 so that the member 12 may bereadily sprung over lthe strips 8 and thereafter pressed downwardly, asindicated in Figs. 2 and 3, thus loc-king the ends of the casing againstthe strip 10. lIn thisway the fourth side of the. spring is closed, -anda lubricant-proof chamber extending substantially the entire length ofthesprin is secured.

V 'As a urtlier precaution for preventing llubricant from escapingbetween the jacket and spring, I may provide clamps 19 and 20 at theextreme ends of the casing, as indicated in Fig. 1.-

To adapt a cover constructed according to my invention' to high pressurevsystems of lubrication, I have shown a check valve 15 which is formedtoreceive the end of a grease gun. This valve communicates with theinterior of the spring by reason of the fact that the threaded portion1,5a thereof is in engagement with the nut 14, and lubricant isprevented from flowing outwardly along the threaded shank by reason ofthe cap washer 16 which abuts the outer side of 'the metallic casing.

I have illustrated in Fig. 6 a construction which eliminates thenecessity for the closure member. In this figure the locking is obtainedby inter-engaging flanges 25 and 26 which are formed integrally .withthe endsof the casing 5. The preferred form of constructing theseflanges is to dip the ends of the casing in lead so as to form a strip'extending longitudinally thereof a short distance inwardly, whereby oneedge may be folded around. the other to forman interlocking joint. Thenafter the edges are thus interlocked, they may be permanently retainedby soldering them t'gether. A suitable way for accomplishing this wouldbe to pass a soldering iron along the seam.

The method of assembling a spring cover constructed in accordance withmy invention is' as follows: The jacket 6 having the nut '14 securedthereto is'lapped around the spring to be covered, and the strip 10 isplaced over the lapped edges of the jacket. Then the casing of wirescreen having the rails 8 secured to the ends thereof is folded 'aroundthe jacket in such manner that the flanges 8a are in upright positionand adjacent the strip 10. This strip then, acts as a bearing plate toprevent the fabric from being cut when the casing is locked around thespring. The -rails are then locked by extending thev flanges 12a of themember 12 over the flanges 8, and then pressing or hammering the flangesflat to the position indicated in Fig. 3. Then the lubricant valve 15 isthreaded into the nut 14 and the clamps 19 and 20 are secured to theextreme end of the casing, 'whereupon the spring v1s ready to receivelubricant under pressure.v

In casev the locking means, illustrated in. Fig. 6, is employed, thescreen is previously provided with the fusible metallic4 strip 25 and26, and when the casing is placed around the frame these strips areinterlocked' and! then united.

An advantage of a spring cover constructed in accordance with myinvention is that the necessity for separatecncasing sections isobviated, and accordingly the construction is greatly simplified.Furthermore, this form of casing is readily adapted for permitting thenormal flexing operation of the spring without permitting lubricant heldunder pressure to escape.

Having thus described my invention, 1 claim: e l.

,1. A spring cover comprisingin combination a one-piece metallic casingformed of wir@ screen and extending substantially the entire length ofthe spring to be covered and joined longitudinally of the spring,metallic strips secured to the longitudinal edges of the screen and alongitudinally flanged strip en gaging said strips secured to the screenand member for the'casing.

2. In combination, a spring to be covered, a flexible jacket extendingentirely around the spring, a one-piece screen casing surrounding' thejacket and extending the en tire length thereof, and'meansfor lockingthe longitudinal edges of the screen,'where by a fluid-tight pressurechamber is formed around the spring. f

3. A spring cover comprising a one-piece metallic casing of wovenmaterial, said casing' extending around three sides of the spring and onpart. of the fourth side, and means for interlocking the ends of thespring on the fourth side, whereby afluid-tight pressure chamber issecured, said means comprising 4 a pair of longitudinally flanged stripssoldered to the edges of the screen on said fourth side of the springand an interlocking member engaging said flanged strips.

.4. Aspring tion a fabric jacket entirely surrounding the spring to becovered, a metallic one-piece casing extending substantially the entirelength of the spring and comprising woven comprising a closure wirescreen closely embracing the jacket,

metallic strip in engagement with the lapped cover comprising incombina' edges of the jacket, a, casing formed of woven wire andextending approximately entirely around the jacket and over saidstrip,and replaceable means adjacent said strip for locking the edges ofthe casing, whereby a fluid-tight pressure chamber is formed around thespring.

6. In combination, a spring, extending entirely around the spring, a U-shaped woven metallic casing embracing the .jacket on three sidesthereof, with the free ends terminating short of each other adja- I centthe fourth side, a flanged metallic rail secured to each of the 'freeends of the casing, and a flanged closure member engaging the flanges ofsaid rails to lock thecasing about the jacket.

7.- A spring cover comprisin 4 in combination, a spring, a' flexibleluigi)` jacket surrounding the spring, -a woven metallic casing closelyembracing the jacket, and a valve projecting laterally from the casingand providing communication withl the interior of the jacket.

In testimony whereof, I hereunto affix my signature.

.ALBERT GOLDRICK.

a fabric jacket ricant-proof

